Chełmońska Wanda (1889-1971, other dates of birth are encountered, e.g. 1898 and 1891), owner of Chełmońska-Boczkowska, painter, daughter of Józef Chełmoński. During World War II she stayed in the Gierczyce estate.
[Handwritten title page]Gierczyce wartime : 1939-1941? [Gierczyce 1940 - 1942], pp. [184]: illustrations (pencil, crayon, ink and watercolor), 20 x 16 cm, ppb. period binding, and: collection of 11 amateur photographs, dated. 1942-1944, various formats
Album by Wanda née Chełmońska Boczkowska, created during her stay in the Łempicki manor in Gierczyce (Opatów district), composed of portraits of residents or guests of the manor, group and outdoor scenes. It documents the period of the German occupation, during which war refugees were given shelter. Among them was also the author, who stayed there with her mother and daughter and supported herself, among other things, by giving drawing lessons. The album is a kind of chronicle of the gierczycki manor with an iconography of characters, and reflects the prevailing mood there during the occupation. It is not limited to the residents of the manor alone, but also shows people employed at the estate and guests - residents of neighboring manors. It shows not only salon and holiday life but also the everyday life of the place from the backstage, including the kitchen. The subject of some of the drawings is the manor's surroundings, including its immediate environs. The drawings are in color and black and white. Each is signed on the back or on the adjacent card. The author used all the pages of the album. The descriptions are concise, sometimes difficult to read. The drawings are naturalistic, made with a sure hand, and sometimes have traces of caricature. The album is one of two known to have been created during the author's stay in and around Opatów. The other, now lost, covered the period 1943-1944.The original title comes from the title page, and its clarification, as well as an explanation of the chronology and circumstances of the disappearance of the second one, can be found in the author's (later) notes on the mid-title pages. Among the characters portrayed by Chelmońska that we managed to decipher are: Ila (?) Karska, Maria Karska (1920-1944), Władysław Karski (1916 - ?), Kazimierz Klabiński (Sandomierska Hodowla Roślin), Karol Kossak (1896-1975), painter, Antoni Łempicki from Słupcza (1857-1946), his son August Łempicki (1885-1978) with his wife Janina née Wyganowska, Stanisław Potworowski (1920-1944), Tomasz Skarżyński (1936-2000), Wojciech Skarżyński (1932-?), Jaroslaw Skotnicki of Ruszcza (1918-1944) and Róża z Załęscy Załęska of Wyszmontów (1891-1981). The photographs depict, among other things, the Gryczycki mansion and group or individual portraits of various people. Mostly signed in pencil during the war period and in pen in the post-war period. They include Krystyna Boczkowska, Wanda née Chelmonska Boczkowska, Janina née Wyganowska Lempicka, Ewa Lupkowska (Lubkowska?), Joanna née Kossak Skarżyńska (1898-1981), Wojciech Skarżyński, Róża née Załęska from Wyszmontow, Anna née Załęska Wąsowicz (1896-1980) and Bolesław Wyganowski (1923-1944). Also included in the album is a photograph of the grave of brothers Boleslaw and Edward (1923-1945) Wyganowski at the Powazki Cemetery in Warsaw (section 257d - 5 -25) as of October 1949 (it looks different now). Photo format: 10.5 x 13.5 (3) - approx. 6 x 9 cm (5) - approx. 4 x 6 cm.
Condition: damage to the album cover on the spine in the form of rubbing of the cloth with small abrasions of the facings. Inside in very good condition with no signs of loss or obvious staining. Condition of photographs more than good. The works of Wanda Chelmonska-Boczkowska are among others in the National Museum in Poznan.